Revision: April 20, 2018, 10:28 a.m.
SB 511 - VERSION ADOPTED BY BOTH BODIES
03/21/2018 1105s
2018 SESSION
18-2775
05/10
SENATE BILL 511
AN ACT establishing an optional tax credit for combat service.
SPONSORS: Sen. Woodburn, Dist 1; Sen. Birdsell, Dist 19; Sen. Bradley, Dist 3; Sen. Carson, Dist 14; Sen. Cavanaugh, Dist 16; Sen. Feltes, Dist 15; Sen. French, Dist 7; Sen. Fuller Clark, Dist 21; Sen. Gannon, Dist 23; Sen. Gray, Dist 6; Sen. Hennessey, Dist 5; Sen. Innis, Dist 24; Sen. Kahn, Dist 10; Sen. Lasky, Dist 13; Sen. Reagan, Dist 17; Sen. Sanborn, Dist 9; Sen. Soucy, Dist 18; Sen. Watters, Dist 4; Rep. Stone, Rock. 1; Rep. Baldasaro, Rock. 5; Rep. Josephson, Graf. 11
COMMITTEE: Public and Municipal Affairs
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AMENDED ANALYSIS
This bill enables municipalities to adopt a property tax credit for members of the New Hampshire national guard and armed forces reserves engaged in combat service.
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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
03/21/2018 1105s 18-2775
05/10
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Eighteen
AN ACT establishing an optional tax credit for combat service.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 New Section; Optional Tax Credit for Combat Service. Amend RSA 72 by inserting after section 28-b the following new section:
72:28-c Optional Tax Credit for Combat Service.
I. A town or city may adopt or rescind an optional tax credit for combat service pursuant to the procedure provided in RSA 72:27-a.
II. The optional tax credit for combat service, upon adoption by a city or town pursuant to RSA 72:27-a, shall be an amount from $50 up to $500. The tax credit for combat service shall be subtracted each year from the property tax on the qualifying service member's residential real estate, as defined in RSA 72:29, II.
III. To qualify for the tax credit for combat service, a person shall be a resident of this state engaged at any point during the taxable period in combat service as a member of the New Hampshire national guard or a reserve component of the Unites States armed forces, called to active duty. For purposes of this section, and in accordance with Internal Revenue Service Publication 3, Armed Forces Tax Guide, "combat service" shall mean military service in one of the following areas:
(a) An active combat area as designated by the President in an Executive Order, for which the service member receives special pay for duty subject to hostile fire or imminent danger as certified by the Department of Defense.
(b) A support area as designated by the Department of Defense in direct sustainment of military operations in the combat zone, for which the service member receives special pay for duty subject to hostile fire or imminent danger as certified by the Department of Defense.
(c) Service in a contingency operation as designated by the Department of Defense, for which the service member receives special pay for duty subject to hostile fire or imminent danger as certified by the Department of Defense.
IV. The application for the tax credit under this section shall be accompanied by the service member's military orders, and shall include such information as may be required for the assessor's office to verify the dates of combat service.
V. A tax credit for combat service shall be in lieu of, and not in addition to, the optional veteran's tax credit under RSA 72:28 or the all veterans' tax credit under RSA 72:28-b. The service member shall be eligible for the credit in each tax year in which the combat service occurs, but the credit may be prorated in the second tax year based on the duration of combat service.
2 Definition of Resident. Amend RSA 72:29, I to read as follows:
I. The word "resident'' as used in RSA 72:28, [and] RSA 72:28-b, and RSA 72:28-c shall mean a person who has resided in this state for at least one year preceding April 1, in the year in which the tax credit is claimed.
3 Definition of Owner. Amend RSA 72:29, VI to read as follows:
VI. For purposes of RSA 72:28, 28-b, 28-c, 29-a, 30, 31, 32, 33, 35, 36-a, 37, 37-a, 37-b, 38-a, 39-a, 62, 66, and 70, the ownership of real estate, as expressed by such words as "owner,'' "owned'' or "own,'' shall include those who have placed their property in a grantor/revocable trust or who have equitable title or the beneficial interest for life in the subject property.
4 Property Taxation; Application Procedure; Reference Added. Amend the introductory paragraph of RSA 72:33, I to read as follows:
I. No person shall be entitled to the exemptions or tax credits provided by RSA 72:28, 28-b, 28-c, 29-a, 30, 31, 32, 35, 36-a, 37, 37-a, 37-b, 38-b, 39-b, 62, 66, and 70 unless the person has filed with the selectmen or assessors, by April 15 preceding the setting of the tax rate, a permanent application therefor, signed under penalty of perjury, on a form approved and provided by the commissioner of revenue administration, showing that the applicant is the true and lawful owner of the property on which the exemption or tax credit is claimed and that the applicant was duly qualified upon April 1 of the year in which the exemption or tax credit is first claimed, or, in the case of financial qualifications, that the applicant is duly qualified at the time of application. The form shall include the following and such other information deemed necessary by the commissioner:
5 New Paragraph; Application for Tax Credit for Combat Service. Amend RSA 72:33 by inserting after paragraph I-a the following new paragraph:
I-b. Notwithstanding the April 15 application deadline in paragraph I, a person may apply for the tax credit for combat service under RSA 72:28-c at any point during the tax year in which the person is engaged in combat service. If the application is received and granted after the tax rate for the city or town is set, the credit shall be applied to the balance of tax payments due for that year. If a person is deemed eligible for the tax credit after taxes have been billed and paid for the tax year in which the person served, the credit shall be applied in the following year.
6 Appeals; Reference Added. Amend RSA 72:34-a to read as follows:
72:34-a Appeal From Refusal to Grant Exemption, Deferral, or Tax Credit. Whenever the selectmen or assessors refuse to grant an applicant an exemption, deferral, or tax credit to which the applicant may be entitled under the provisions of RSA 72:23, 23-d, 23-e, 23-f, 23-g, 23-h, 23-i, 23-j, 23-k, 28, 28-b, 28-c, 29-a, 30, 31, 32, 35, 36-a, 37, 37-a, 37-b, 38-a, 38-b, 39-a, 39-b, 41, 42, 62, 66, or 70 the applicant may appeal in writing, on or before September 1 following the date of notice of tax under RSA 72:1-d, to the board of tax and land appeals or the superior court, which may order an exemption, deferral, or tax credit, or an abatement if a tax has been assessed.
7 Property Taxes; Interpretation of Rules by the Department of Revenue Administration. Amend RSA 72:36, I to read as follows:
I. The commissioner's interpretation of RSA 72:28, 72:28-b, 72:28-c, 72:29, 72:29-a, 72:30, 72:31, 72:32, 72:33, 72:34, 72:34-a, 72:35, 72:36-a, 72:37, 72:37-a, 72:37-b, 72:38-a, 72:38-b, 72:39-a, 72:39-b, 72:41, 72:62, 72:66, and 72:70; and
8 Effective Date. This act shall take effect January 1, 2019.